Jerusalem Arab wounds 2 police, officials warn of growing trend

Sunday, July 13, 2008 |
Israel Today Staff

An Arab gunman shot and seriously wounded two Israeli Border Police officers near the Lion's Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday evening.

According to reports, the terrorist emerged from the shadows in an adjacent Muslim cemetery and shot the officers at point-blank range. One of the victims was downgraded to critical condition over the weekend.

Police officials later said they did not believe the attack was connected to the various other terrorist incidents to have hit Jerusalem over the past six months, including this month's bulldozer rampage and a March shooting spree at a major yeshiva.

However, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter did tell reporters that even if the latest attacks were not directly linked, there is clearly a growing trend of Israeli Arabs turning to organized violence against their Jewish countrymen.

Nor has the violence been confined to Jerusalem. In addition to a spate of violent attacks across northern Israel over the past year, four Galilee Arabs were recently arrested for selling weapons to local and Palestinian Arab terrorists.

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